The Changing Lights

Were we leaving Rio?

Or were we in New York?

I remember bossa nova on the breeze

We were in the back seat

Of a cab we couldn't afford

You were holding my old rucksack

On your knees

You lean towards the window to see the traffic up ahead

These commuters here, you said, could be

The walking dead

And we vowed to guard our dreams

From all the storms that lay ahead

From the winds of fear and each, a compromise

And we laughed about the hopelessness

Of so many people's lives

As we slowly moved towards the changing lights

It was near Les Invalides

Or perhaps Trafalgar Square

It was late at night, the city was asleep

You were clowning in the backseat

With some friends we found somewhere

The kind back then, we'd always seemed to meet

There were those in this great world, you said

Just fated to go far

And among the lucky ones

Were we

Inside that car

And your friends began to sing

When You Wish Upon a Star

And you clapped along like you didn't have a care

Well, once I turned to glance at you

As we drove across the square

And your face looked haunted in the changing light

Was it last September?

It was autumn, more or less

You were waiting to cross some busy boulevard

Talking on your phone

To your family, I guess

Your briefcase tucked up high beneath your arm

As I approached, you turned around

A question in your eye

As though I might ignore you

And just simply walk on by

But we smiled and talked a while

About each others lives

And once or twice, I caught a wistful note

Then you moved towards the crossing

As the car slowed to a halt

And we waved and parted

Beneath the changing lights

And we waved and parted

Beneath the changing lights